Occasionally I watch some of the cable news shows... and have seen some of the criticism of the current head of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI.

Often these pundits have had mostly negative views. They blare on and on about how the Pope is so "backward"... and how the currently released and promulgated "re-do" of the Catholic Missal... with which the Catholic faithful follow along the Mass... is a throwback to a century or two... and ignores the popular revisions promulgated by the Second Vatican Council in 1968.

There has also been criticism of His Eminence for his stand against married priests... which was the rule in the early church... and also for his stand against women priests... which again was common in the very earliest days of the church. There were even some women bishops in the early church.

But... finally... and perhaps just in time... Pope Benedict XVI seems to be "coming around." The above shown photo of His Excellency shows his recent response to various comments that were made during the various visits to some of the European Heads of State made by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Karen: The fact IS... that it was well-known among the "Cardinals" who elected him what he stood for, and how he would "govern" the Church.

If you care for more information about him, you might read a book that was written about five or six years ago entitled "The Rule of Benedict." There is something called The Rule of Benedict that tells how the Benedictine order conducts itself... and this is not the book I am referring to. It is about all of the politics... and I do mean POLITICS that went on behind the scenes to get Benedict the job which took him from being referred to as "the Pope's Rottweiler"... to Pope. It is an eye-opener. And Karen... thanks for being my first commentor. I wondered if this post would just "sit here." Thank you.

Karen - As a Catholic, I have always wished the church moved more in tune where most of society dwells. I remember working with another Catholic agent back in the 1980s. She explained the conservative stance of our then Pope Paul this way - "The Pope is kind of in the position of a real estate appraiser. They aren't there to set price, they often will come in and appraise at sales price, but not go above it. Afterall, the appraiser doesn't want to be an instrument in raising value, leaving it to the 'willing buyer - willing seller tenant."

However, I still often feel frustration with the church for lowballing values all the time.

Myrl: I myself was "raised" Catholic. Catholic schools... including John Carroll University... run by the Jesuits (I loved them)... all the way. Then I taught for nine years in grades seven and eight in the Catholic schools in Cleveland. I saw the church, and the schools from "the inside." It was just awful how the church fought with the nuns... over the nun's mildly progressive attitude.

The current pope... rather than taking things as they are... has brought decades of blatant conservativism with him. He is currently trying to "re-make" all of the moderate/progressive nun's communities in the USA. It is absolutely un-christian what he is doing.

By the way... thank you as well for your comment.

By the way... just why the Church is so afraid of women... just amazes me. Well, again... no it doesn't.

That's a funny picture! The previous Pope was more charismatic. Don't know what to make of that look...but it makes great fodder for the cartoonists. By the way, the Jesuits are great educators.

Posted by C. Lloyd McKenzie, Living Albuquerque about 8 years ago

Lloyd: Yes... the dear man has a strange look in his eyes. Not sure what to make of it, although I DO have a few opinions... none of which are printable.

And yes... I totally agree with you about the Jesuits. I feel I received an excellent education. They teach people how to think for themselves... rather than how to march in lockstep. I am fortunate indeed. By the way... thanks for your comment... I hope to see you back again. And also... you take a great picture. :)